Rob Reviews "GOAT"

GOAT is the kind of film that snuck up on me… in a good way.

On the surface, this film co-directed by Tyree Dillihay (Bob’s Burgers) and Adam Rosette (Harvey Girls Forever!) comes across as your run-of-the-mill “small guy overcomes odd and becomes a hero” story, but thankfully it is so much more than that.  Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things plays the main character in Will Harris, who is literally a goat that has aspirations of playing Roarball (a dangerous version of basketball played in the animal kingdom), but because of his size that could be just a pipe dream.  When his hometown team in Vineland is nowhere near good led by legend and veteran player Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), their owner (Jenifer Lewis) brings Will in after a viral video that shows him going toe-to-toe with their rival in Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre) to toy with Fillmore.  Will is an unknowing pawn in this game, but just wants the chance to prove himself, and he will do whatever it takes to carve out his own piece of history.

This film also has NBA great Stephen Curry as a producer and the voice of giraffe Lenny as well as David Harbour, Patton Oswalt, Nicole Coughlan (Bridgerton), and Nick Kroll in roles that all are outstanding here.  They each bring their own story to their characters, and while we all know that this is Will’s story, this script treats those around him as more than just supporting characters with their own stories and issues to overcome based on the book “Funky Dunks” by Chris Tougas.

I found myself laughing out loud on a number of occasions during GOAT with references both overt and covert, and that is the kind of humor I am drawn to.  Kids will love the story and silliness of the team (Kroll’s Modo is nothing short of amazing), while the adults that are fans of the NBA will also catch some references to past events in that league.  (I will be honest here that I was intrigued by seeing Andre Iguodala listed as a “basketball consultant” with Curry involved, but the more the merrier I guess.)

The story itself understands its target audience and is able to keep a pace that did not make any of the kids in the screening I attended restless at any point or making a bunch of unnecessary noise from boredom or distraction.  As a matter of fact, a lot of them were dancing along to the soundtrack (that is also REALLY good) and rooting for Will and the Vineland Thorns as they work towards winning a “Claw”.

I know this is early in the year, but GOAT will definitely be in contention for some Best Animated Feature awards coming soon.  This honestly could have been released when the 2026-2027 NBA season kicked off versus right at the all-star break and been more celebrated.  A re-release wouldn’t be a terrible idea here, so take the family to the theater and enjoy this truly enjoyable film!